Kazzia ready for Oaks bid

Sagitta 1000 Guineas heroine Kazzia is reported in top form ahead of her tilt at the Vodafone Oaks on Friday.

The daughter of Zinaad sparkled in a five-furlong workout in Newmarket this morning and will head to Epsom ready to do herself justice.

Godolphin`s German-bred filly was a relatively unfancied winner of the Guineas at Newmarket but the manner of her neck victory from Snowfire suggested there was much better to come.

Jockey Frankie Dettori is pleased with the way her preparations have gone and he believes the extra half a mile should see her progress again.

'Kazzia surprised me by winning the Guineas. I thought that the Oaks would be more down her street but by winning the Guineas she shows she has more ability than I thought,' he said.

Dettori was delighted by the fighting spirit she showed to hang on at Newmarket and he hopes to see that attitude again at Epsom.

'She`s a strong, tough and game filly _ typical of the German school where the ground gets very soft and they race on the extremes of conditions.

'Kazzia will not go down in a fight,' he added.

Simon Crisford, racing manager for the Dubai operation, is another who believes Kazzia`s Classic win was due in part to a good ride but feels she may find the Oaks distance more to her liking.

'Kazzia obviously benefited from a tactical ride on that day but she may well have won the race anyhow because she`s a very talented filly.

'She`s done very well since the Guineas and a mile and a half will suit her down to the ground,' he said.

'She`s a very tough type and if any filly eyeballs here they will know they have been in a battle.

'She can handle any sort of ground and she will be doing all her best work at the finish.'

Some people knocked the standard of the Guineas form after ante-post favourite Queen`s Logic was forced to miss the race but Crisford believes the race was a high-class renewal.

He said: 'That was a good Guineas. The first four are good fillies although Gossamer was not at her best that day.

'She`s the right type for the race and what we saw at the Guineas was a big, big bonus. She`s in great heart.'

Hot favourite for the fillies` crown is Sir Michael Stoute`s Islington, who won a Newbury maiden before staking her Oaks claims in the Tattersalls Musidora Stake at York.

Dettori likes what he has seen of the Sadler`s Wells filly so far and added: 'Islington has done nothing wrong. She seems a good galloping type and every question they have asked she has answered.'